We are listing our house on the market hopefully in one month. I need to get organised and declutter now so that a) it's neat, clean and easy to maintain for house viewings and b) to make moving easier!
A few things:
Toys: I have held onto everything baby and child - DD will be 4 in a few months, I just had a miscarriage and can't see me being ready to try again very soon. So should I sell and donate all the baby stuff or pack more stuff up for years to come knowing it will be at least another 2 years until someone will be playing with them. How do you store things you want to keep?
Baby clothes: how much do you keep? I was told everything so I have but it's way too much.
Trinket things: there are some things I don't want to part with but not really wanting in display. How do people store this stuff?
I'm feeling so overwhelmed with how far I am from where I want to be but the journey has to start NOW! Thanks!
Buy some big plastic storage tubs with lids that seal and pack as much as you can into them. Can you store the tubs at a family members place or a friends?
We just bought a house, and the one thing we learnt was that presentation is a MUST.
Remove any clutter, so as you will be moving anyway start packing stuff you don't need. If you have 30 towels in the cupboard, pack half them. If you have 3 dinner sets, pack half. It's amazing how much stuff you can pack and not miss.
If you have any furniture that isn't necessary and cluttered, store it at someone's house/shed.
We have spent 3 months with most of our stuff in storage while we wait for settlement and are staying at our families place, all we took were clothes, toiletries and a few bits and pieces.
Amazing what you can live without!
Also amazing how little touches made a difference, a nice smelling candle burning for inspections, a bowl of lollies on the counter, some music playing for inspections. Speak to your real estate about it.
I'm trying to do this ATM (sort out kids stuff - not sell my house). I feel guilty giving away good clothes that are barely worn so I had listed some things on Ebay. I sold 6 things to 3 different ladies (out of over 30 items I had listed). One hasn't paid almost two weeks on. Total PITA. So not worth the time or effort. Getting $1 or $2 an item. Then the postage is ridiculous so no-one wants to pay it. I'll be donating the rest. But I'm not having any more. Toys - same deal. I'm really struggling with letting things go, particularly the FP stuff that MIL bought for them. This is because she kept her kids FP stuff & has brought it out for the grandkids and I think she expects the same. I just think it's a waste. But the guilt! Anyway - my suggestion would be to get a box (or two) and fill it with your favourite good quality items. Anything that doesn't fit - donate. When you decide to have another, most likely you will get given more as gifts and the majority of the toys won't be played with anyway.
Trinket things - I have a box with each kids name on it. I have kept their kindy scrapbooks & photos, mothers day & fathers day craft, some little things they were given at birth like their baby coin sets, ornaments, hair from DS's first haircut, birth & first birthday cards, birth certificates. I take photos of other artwork and throw the orginal out. The boxes are quite large and at the moment are still rather empty.
Good luck! I'm hoping to sort DD's clothes out tonight if she decides to go to sleep at a reasonable hour.
I agree that presentation is key; you don't want clutter. Choose one or two sentimental outfits and toys and donate or pass on the rest. Space bags for clothes and linen are cool - quilts and pillows especially. As for trinkets, I still have boxes here that I never look at or even remember I have, so not much help there! A friend takes photos of her kids art and puts them in a digital photo frame, then chucks the originals.... Love that idea!
Space bags and plastic boxes and store everything elsewhere.
Also be able to put personal things away when it comes to open house - I used to have a plastic box that all my photos etc went into on open house day, I had my place as neutral as possible, I repainted everything white or plain colours, removed any loud features. People need to be able to see their own furniture/taste in the place.
Good luck with the selling and your next stage in life.
Help me declutter and organise...
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). I feel guilty giving away good clothes that are barely worn so I had listed some things on Ebay. I sold 6 things to 3 different ladies (out of over 30 items I had listed). One hasn't paid almost two weeks on. Total PITA. So not worth the time or effort. Getting $1 or $2 an item. Then the postage is ridiculous so no-one wants to pay it. I'll be donating the rest. But I'm not having any more. Toys - same deal. I'm really struggling with letting things go, particularly the FP stuff that MIL bought for them. This is because she kept her kids FP stuff & has brought it out for the grandkids 
and I think she expects the same. I just think it's a waste. But the guilt! Anyway - my suggestion would be to get a box (or two) and fill it with your favourite good quality items. Anything that doesn't fit - donate. When you decide to have another, most likely you will get given more as gifts and the majority of the toys won't be played with anyway.
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